For a year now, many employees have found themselves wound up in lengthy and prolonged hours of working extensively from their homes. They miss communication with their clients and peers. Many might be battling with keeping their minds sane while trying to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has flipped around our reality of life and work. Across the world, workplaces are adapting to the current reality and have very much transitioned their work models to remote working in an attempt to restrict the spread of this deadly virus.
When I started working from home, it felt like a much-earned vacation and everything seemed perfect, however, with time, I realized that it gets bland sooner than one might like to believe. Research conducted by International Labor Office suggests that almost 41 percent of remote workers experience increased levels of stress. This is because employees who are new to remote working do not understand the concept very much. Remote working is the same as working from your office in everything; the only difference is location.
Remote working beginners find it hard to believe this fact and they end up working exhaustively from home or are prone to take too much stress. The gist of this article is along the same lines and the content is borrowed from my personal remote working phases and experiences. Read along to find out everything you need to know in order to stay sane while working from home.
How To Stay Sane When Working From Home?
Separate your work life from your home life
You might not understand the value of defining your workspace right now, but trust me when I say you need to separate your work and home life to maintain a healthy balance. Dedicate a distinct room for your work. This space should ideally be out of everyone’s way and should have a door so you can have privacy. If you have a spare room, utilize it. You can also utilize a multi-purpose room that is used scarcely like a laundry room or a garage.
Dress Up
It may be exciting to be a rebel and work in your sweatpants all week and honestly, why should you not? Nevertheless, you might be fascinated to know that dressing up boosts productivity levels and asserts a sense of confidence in yourself. Doing your hair, getting dressed in business attire has the power to induce a good mood and working spirit and so take advantage.
Seamless Internet Connection
One thing that annoyed me a lot in the starting days of my remote working was the inconsistent internet. The remote working model solely depends on being connected with your team members all the time; the tools and programs that direct working from home are also dependent on the internet. If you belong to a large family in which everyone has internet needs, you should upgrade your internet plan because it is common knowledge that everyone is going to stay on the internet most of the time.
In the event that you have had trouble with your internet provider previously or are mostly annoyed by your internet’s speed, this is not the time to let it go. You need to switch to a better, more reliable internet service provider right away. You should not compromise on this as it affects your work as well as your mental health (I have been through it so trust me); to get you started, this https://www.localcabledeals.com/Spectrum/Packages is what helped me through the dark times. I have found Spectrum internet to be most appropriate for work as it provides internet speeds starting from 100 Mbps at comparable market rates and offers a complimentary security suite to protect your confidentiality, at all times.
Schedule every hour of the day
The number one mistake that remote workers make is messing up the schedule. The freedom to work from home is so enticing that we forget how important it is to maintain hours of work and personal time. Just like before, you need to get up in the morning, freshen up yourself, and have breakfast before starting work. Set a time for everything you do and make sure to schedule breaks during the workday just as you used to take short breaks in the office. Stressing yourself with work at all times can lead up to mind debility and health disorders.
Equip your home office with the right things
Ensure that your home workspace is equipped with the right tools. For this, make a list of absolutely essential items, ones you cannot work without, these maybe PC, printer, office supplies, software tools, etc. Once you are aware of the essentials, you need to work on the ergonomics of your home office. Invest in an adjustable desk that can be used while standing or sitting. You would also need to purchase a good chair, preferably, an ergonomic chair with adjustable levers. Sound canceling headphones can also come in handy while working at home. With technology by your side, make sure to have a pint of water available, as well. From weight gain to increased levels of blood pressure, dehydration can get the best of you.
Know when to stop
Understanding when to stop is of utmost importance. Your personal life is still yours. Working from home does not mean that you should work all the time, or that you should bring work into your personal hours. Work earnestly but only during office hours. Sure, there are days when you will have to work more than usual and that is fine but you should know better than to let work dictate the rest of your life too.
Sleep Well
Your sleep schedule is prone to get disturbed when working from home but know that you can fix it. Value your health more than anything and understand that sleep patterns dictate various parts of your health. A good night’s sleep makes you more productive, happier, and efficient in your work.
Make time to stay fit
Now that you are restricted to your home for most of the day, make sure to put the effort in the way of staying fit. Walk, exercise, stretch, or meditate – but do something to ensure fitness. Like sleep, exercise has a lot of health benefits and increases productivity levels. I, myself, am into hard-core cardio and I have actually gotten a lot fitter than last year, thanks to being consistent.
Spend time with your family
It is important to set boundaries with your family and friends when working but after you get off work, you need to spend time with your loved ones. Spending time with your loved ones elevates your mental peace and is a way to reboot yourself after a long day. Communicate with them, watch a movie together, play if you have kids or any other activity that feels good.
